


I Just Adore You (Tsukishima x Reader) [on hiatus]

by hellointernet_heyguys



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Best Friends, Dimension Travel, F/M, First Love, First Meetings, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, My First Work in This Fandom, Reality Bending, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings, fantasy sort of?, indulging in my tsukishima headcanons, yes tsukishima listens to arctic monkey's
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:35:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25446955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hellointernet_heyguys/pseuds/hellointernet_heyguys
Summary: You often struggled with love. You had to keep up with the multiple animes you watched, the fanfictions you read, video games you played, and the multiple boyfriends you had; well, fake, virtual boyfriends that is. One night after scrolling on Tiktok, you come across a post that may as well have changed her life forever:A peppy voice yelps through the screen, “Do YOU want to visit the anime universe?”The words immediately capture your attention, “Duh”
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Reader
Comments: 6
Kudos: 95





	1. Shifting

**Author's Note:**

> key: 
> 
> Y/N=your name  
> F/N=first name  
> L/N=last name  
> B/N=best friend’s name  
> E/C=eye color  
> H/C=hair color  
> COO=country of origin

_You often struggled with love. You had to keep up with the multiple animes you watched, the fanfictions you read, video games you played, and the multiple boyfriends you had; well, fake, virtual boyfriends that is. One night after scrolling on Tiktok, you come across a post that may as well have changed her life forever:_

A peppy voice yelps through the screen, “Do YOU want to visit the anime universe?” 

The words immediately capture your attention, _“Duh_ ” 

“Then consider reality shifting and visit your DESIRED REALITY! All you need is a pen, paper, and a very creative imagination!” The video plays. Her voice is almost piercing but you become intrigued and decide to watch the video out of morbid curiosity, “Visit the anime world, huh? That’s virtually impossible” you think out loud. While you were heavily obsessed with anime to the point where your family and peers had felt nothing but pure disappointment, you weren’t an idiot. 

In school, you’re definitely an introvert who decided to keep things to herself most of the time. You have a moderate amount of friends, but you only keep yourself close to maybe one or two. Characteristically, you are uncharacteristically average.Your eccentric personality trait however, is your addiction to anime, manga, and otome games. Anime posters fill your walls and your phone lockscreen is obviously a picture of Tsukishima Kei. Your phone has a separate folder marked with all of the best otome games; while struggling to capture the attention of guys in real life, Defender of Justice 707 would never let you down! Although you find yourself content with otome and anime boys, a string tugs at your heart whenever you see a real-life couple. You think to yourself, _that could be me._ As long as you could remember, you were always a hopeless romantic, aching for a dramatic slow-burn love story that could only be found on Wattpad or AO3. It’s not that you weren’t attractive, you surely had a unique look to you. Your deep insecurities and low-confidence forced you to believe that you looked no better than Tonpa from Hunter x Hunter. As your mind slowly started to drift away into mindless thought, you quickly snapped back into reality and continued listening to the girl in the video yap her mind away. 

The video spewed a lot of crap about current realities, waiting rooms, desired realities, scripting, methods on shifting, etc. _It just sounds like a really advanced lucid dream. There’s no way I can actually shift dimensions, right?_

While you think the idea is absolutely absurd, you find yourself wanting to learn more. _“What if I could meet Tsukishima Kei and visit the Haikyuu universe? I could finally drop the x reader fics and doujinshis. It sounds almost like an escape from reality. Considering the state of the world, that doesn’t sound too bad right now”_ you thought. You promptly sit upright on your comfy, queen-sized bed -there is a reason you haven’t left your room in weeks- and look up to see your _Haikyuu!!_ posters staring back directly at you. You tilt your neck towards the right only to greet your Tsukishima Kei body pillow. You chuckle to yourself, “I really am crazy, aren’t I?”

After what seemed like hours of joining Amino groups, watching Youtube videos, and reading articles, you decide to give it a rest. You check the clock and sigh, “Already 5 pm? _Where_ did the day go.” You have spent nearly 4 hours researching desired realities and came to the conclusion that you _definitely_ want to try it. A part of your intuition tells you that trying it out for yourself is a grave mistake, but another part of you reminds you that it is just for fun. No matter the outcome, it would be fascinating to experience an almost lucid dream-like state where you can visit your beloved Tsukishima and the rest of the Karasuno High School Boys’ Volleyball team. 

You came to a few understandings about desired realities and shifting. The world we currently live in is our Current Reality, our ideal world in which all of our desires and wishes are fulfilled is our Desired Reality, and the transitional dimension between our Current Reality and our Desired Reality is the Waiting Room. Shifting essentially means to move your stream of consciousness from one reality to the other and there are multiple methods on how to shift, including scripting, which means to write and describe yourself, important characters, crucial scenarios, and your new home and location, listening to subliminals, and most importantly, _trusting_ and _believing_ you are going to shift. You’re not new to some of these concepts, especially because of your addiction to manifesting practically anything. You decide that _tonight_ you were going to shift. The thought was terrifying and many articles online stated that properly shifting could take months, even years. Despite what articles said, you are determined to shift as soon as possible. One of your redeeming qualities is having a heart of steel and an immense amount of willpower to do anything you set your mind to. It didn’t matter if it was going to take years, you _are_ going to reality shift. 

You repeatedly told yourself before going to bed, affirming that “you are a shifter, you are reality shifting, you are meeting Tsukishima Kei, aka the love of your life”. Prior to this, you scripted out a couple of pages of your Desired Reality. You decide that you are going to be a new 1st-year student at Karasuno High School after your dad receives a new job offer in the Miyagi Prefecture. Soon after, you become the new boys’ volleyball club manager alongside Shimizu Kiyoko -sorry Yachi- and embark on an _epic_ love story with Tsukishima, the devilishly handsome, snarky, and tall middle-blocker. Although you feel the need to have lingering thoughts telling you to stop before you begin shifting, you hold off the intrusive thoughts in fear of your affirmations being futile. Resting in comfortable position, you use the Double-Sided Stair method you found online. You’re lucky that you do not have aphantasia and can quite easily visualize images in your head. 

You imagine yourself in a small room with a staircase leading upwards to a white door. Slowly but steadily, you walk up the staircase, focusing on scenarios from your Desired Reality with the Karasuno boys, especially Tsukishima. You think over and over again until you visualize yourself reaching the top of the staircase, facing a mirror plastered on the door. Looking at your reflection -something that you generally despise-, you tell yourself that you want this, you need this, you’re _getting_ your ideal life. You walk through the door and envision a pile of stairs leading downwards to yet another white door. Walking down the staircase again you think about how happy you will be to leave your current reality. Life is boring: nothing good, nothing bad. You wish to feel the rush of a modern-day love story with the boy of your dreams like any other lovestruck teen would; however, you’re chained and locked from that life because you are unfortunately stuck in this dimension. Throughout your entire life, you imagined anime universes and the simplicity of life there. Stuck in your thoughts, you reach the bottom of your mental staircase, radiating a positive glow. Walking through yet _another_ door, you imagine yourself greeting your best friend, (B/N). She questions, “Are you ready to go?”. Knowing that there is no turning back once you say quietly nod -well, technically you could say no and just wake up the mood was certainly too intense for that- and trot across the long hallway. Together, you hold hands and walk through your last visual corridor that leads you into your desired reality. At this point, the energy surrounding you felt painfully strong and almost spiritual. This doesn’t feel normal anymore. No, you aren’t in the mere realm of dissociative thoughts and dreams; you felt as if your stream of consciousness transcended this reality altogether. You visualize B/N asking you questions about your Desired Reality and you respond purely and honestly. You force yourself to keep the visualizations of the long, dark hallway strong. You wholeheartedly believe that beyond this door, your dream life awaits you. Although you understand that you could simply wake up any time you want from this, the feelings stirring up in the pit of your stomach are urging you to march forward. As you reach the end of the hallway, (B/N) whispers.“Farewell, I hope to see you soon” The tone sounds oddly ominous and strange, considering how much of a feral your best friend actually was. You ignore the sudden mood shift and smile back, walking into the door that sent you truly believed sent you into your Desired Reality. 

The last thing you consciously remember is a beam of white light nearly blinding you as you feel your body quickly heat up and a pulsing headache pounding your head. Blotches of colors, images of your Desired family, pictures of your Desired home, and Desired memories from your childhood immediately replace the memories you have previously known. Unknowing of what is happening, you almost regret your decision. You think to yourself, _Is this what death feels like?_

You suddenly jolt up from your bed. You feel the bedsheets. _They’re green. Wait, I don’t have green bed sheets?_ You slowly move your head upwards and look at the wall. Your anime posters are gone. You shift your head and notice the absence of your Tsukishima body pillow. Most importantly you realize, you are not in your own room.


	2. New Neighbor

“Are you serious… It worked?” You’re absolutely shocked and simultaneously terrified. Although your visualizations felt real, a part of you thought that it was a whole load of bullshit at the end of the day. You realize, “Wait, were those heat flashes and memories actually me just shifting?” You don’t have time to dwell on the situation because you just made another realization: You can SEE? Your vision has been  _ horrible  _ for the past 10 years and you have been wearing thick glasses every single day. You alarmingly touch your face only to realize your vision is perfect. “Now that I think about it, perfect vision  _ was  _ one of the things I scripted.” While looking around your new Desired room, you hear a knock on the door. 

“Y/N, you’re going to be late for your first day of school!” Your mother said. You hadn’t changed your parents in your desired reality quite frankly because you can’t imagine yourself without them. You did however desire them to be much more lenient and kinder to avoid stress.

“Yeah uh…alright. Wh-What’s the school name again?” You sheepishly spoke.

“Forgotten already? It’s been a few weeks since we moved!” she chuckled, “Karasuno High School. I got our next door neighbor to walk you there. He attends Karasuno as well, and he’s in the same grade!”

Your eyes widen.  _ A first year like me? A guy too? Don’t tell me… _

The doorbell rings again. 

Your mother opens the door to a tall, lanky blond. He has a plain expression on his face but his eyebrow raises when he notices you. Your deep (e/c) eyes widen in shock.  _ No, this can’t be. Wait wait wait wait wait. I didn’t desire our relationship to start like this. It started off when I became the manager of the volleyball team. Why is THE Tsukishima Kei at my doorstep???  _

You greet him with an honest but apprehensive smile. His face looks completely neutral and he simply nods back. Your heart sinks a little watching how utterly uninterested he looks, as if he has an obligation to be at your doorstep. You quickly shake your head as you finally hear your mother say something, 

“Y/N, meet Kei-kun! He lives next door and him and his mother were kind enough to introduce themselves to us last night while you were resting. He’ll be walking you to school for the next few days so you don’t get lost.” 

“Oh...really?” You stutter, “That’s g-great. Uh, hi…” you pause, pretending as if you don’t already know his surname

“Tsukishima.” He responds blankly.

“Ah, right, right. Thank you Tsukishima-san.”

He doesn’t respond. “Uh, w-well, anyways we’ll be heading out mom!” you turn your head as you quickly pace out the door. You don’t eat breakfast in the fear that you’re going to spew everything up. You notice he’s speaking Japanese but for some odd reason everything comes back to you in perfect English. You speak English to him but you assume it’s coming back to him in Japanese. You’re reluctant to speak to him in fear you might annoy him. It feels borderline creepy knowing almost everything about him yet he is blissfully unaware and knows absolutely nothing about you. 

“So, uh, how is Karasuno?” You sheepishly ask, hoping to start some conversation. There is an uncomfortably large distance between you two, partially to avoid dating rumors. Not to mention it’s slightly strange walking to school with somebody you just met five minutes ago. 

“It’s fine. Nothing special.” He curtly replies. He looks marvelly bored and you can’t help but think you’re burdening him. He didn’t have to do this. He looks at you and opens his mouth but quickly closes it, as if he’s holding something back.

“What’s wrong, Tsukishima-san?” You question.

He swallows before he looks straight ahead and says, “I hope you don’t get the wrong idea from this (L/N)-san. My mom just wanted me to be polite to our new neighbors. Quite frankly, I would not do this if I wasn’t forced to.”

You feel your heart sink to the bottom of your stomach. Of course this was how it was going to turn out. Even in your Desired Reality you couldn’t have him. Even though you switched  _ dimensions _ you couldn’t have him. This was his obligation, an act of politeness. 

“No, no of course not! It’s okay, I don’t want to be a burden!” You softly chuckle to hide the meekness in your voice. He looks at you as your face is tilted towards the ground. He can’t help but feel bad but he knows he has to do this. He receives dozens of confessions a month and has plenty of girls pining over him. He can’t afford to have another one. 

For Tsukishima Kei, relationships are a no-go. Kei has never found many girls attractive to begin with simply because his mind is always focused elsewhere. Volleyball consumes most of his life with practice twice a day, matches on the weekends, and occasional tournaments and training camps. It’s not that he particularly loves volleyball or anything, but he’s stuck it out for so long that he might as well just continue it. On top of that, he’s constantly on top of his studies. As a result, he’s fully aware his brain does not have the capacity for a relationship. While deep in thought about the words he just said to you and feeling slightly bad, he notices a group of three girls giving you the side-eye as you get closer towards the school building. 

A girl with short blonde hair and freckles whines, “Who’s that girl and why is she with Tsukki!? She looks like a foreigner too. Weird right?” 

“Why is she walking to school with Tsukishima-kun? I’ve never seen her around here. Don’t point Hano-chan, it’s rude” A all girl with jet black hair and pink butterfly clips quietly scoffs

“Hano-chan, Miyagawa, We’ll take care of her later, don’t worry.” The third girl sighs. Her presence is overwhelming. She has luscious ginger locks and a figure to die for. Her presence dictates the atmosphere and causes everyone in her path to be awestruck by her aura. Kei recognizes the girls,  _ It’s Miyagawa-san, Hano-san, and Yanase-san.  _ The three girls, Himeka Hano, Riku Miyagawa, and Keiko Yanase were the most popular first-year’s. It can be safe to assume they have had over 300 guys pine over them together; however, their eyes have always been fixed on Tsukishima-san, partially because he’s the only guy who hasn’t shown interest in the three girls. Yanase is the unofficial “leader” of the group and has an intimidating presence that can make anyone scramble in sight. 

You feel a pair of eyes darting towards your peripherals. You shiver and start rubbing the nape of your neck as a defense mechanism. Tsukishima catches wind of the staring and almost instinctively pats your head. 

“Y/N-san, are you okay?” He asks.

“Yeah, I’m fine!” You timidly chuckle again. For some reason, seeing you laugh sends shivers down his spine. He doesn’t understand why. 

“It’s probably those three girls over there,” he points to Yanase, Hano, and Miyagawa, “They’re the biggest bitches in the grade and for some reason they’re obsessed with me. They probably feel uneasy seeing you walk with me and you’re new. Word of advice? Just stay away from them.” 

You’re shocked. Although you knew Tsukishima was intelligent, you thought he would be more dense. “Ahhh I figured. I know a girl’s gaze when I see one. It doesn’t matter anyways. If they have a problem with me they can just say it to my face.” You look up confidently, darting your eyes towards the girls, acting unphased despite the obvious intimidation attempts. 

Tsukishima raises his eyebrow. He’s impressed to see somebody act so nonchalant,  _ especially  _ in front of Yanase. A soft smile tugs at the corner of Tsukishima’s mouth, “Nice attitude. You know, you should act like that more often. Confidence is always a good look.” His words are blunt and his sentences are curt; however, your heart races at the warmth of his words. 

The two of you make casual conversation all the way until the inside of the school building. He asks why your family moved to Japan and what life was like in the country you came from. You describe your life in your home country: your home, your school, the Friday night football games, your “adventures” at Chili’s every Friday night with your best friend. Tsukishima is entranced in the conversation, finding the talk of cultures amusing. He begins to explain some Japanese customs to help you integrate better. The talk of clashing cultures eventually leads you to a building with the words “Karasuno High School” proudly plastered on the exterior. 

For some reason, the uncomfortable distance is gone and is rather replaced with a familiar acquaintanceship. Walking into the brightly lit halls of Karasuno, you pull out a slip of paper from your backpack containing your identification and your classroom. In bold, black letters you scan over your name and notice the class section. Tsukishima peers over your shoulder and you look back, noticing a raise in his eyebrows. 

He points to the paper you’re clutching, “Y/N, we’re in the same class.”


	3. 505

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
> 
> TW: This chapter has depictions of a mild panic attack and anxiety. If that makes you uncomfortable, stoping reading at "thinking about your 'real dimension'" and continue reading at "Your thoughts".
> 
> I try to keep Tsukishima in character but sometimes I can't help but indulge in my own fantasies about him :)

Your cheeks turn crimson red, “Really? That’s great! At least I’ll have a familiar face to see!” You give Tsukishima a wide grin. He looks slightly flustered but whisks his face to the side. He wants to say more but he can only bring out a quiet, “Yeah”.

Behind the facade of a composed exterior, you’re panicking,  _ Ohmygod Ohmygod Ohmygod it’s happening it’s happening. Tsukishima and I are in the same class? It’s like I’m in some sort of shoujo manga!  _

However, you quickly stop your thoughts and pretend as if you have no idea what’s in store. Anyways, there’s no telling how this reality will play out.  _ It already strayed away from our ideal meeting, so it looks like the universe is going to work its part. For now, I’m just going to try to be friends with Tsukishima since he’s the only person I actually know right now. Play it safe.  _ You begin to stray away from Tsukishima in order to avoid looking clingy. You walk a few steps ahead until you realize you have no idea how the layout of the school works. You take a few steps back, survey the scene, walk a few steps forward, leftwards, right, and repeat this cycle a few times until you hear a small “Pffft” from behind you. Your face immediately flushes to a bright, almost Barbie pink and you hesitantly turn your head to notice the 6’2 string bean behind you. 

“Ts-Tsukishima-san, h-have you been behind me this whole time?” you sheepishly ask.

“You look like a lost puppy, it’s almost pathetic.” He sighs as he pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Oh, um...Sorry! I’ll try harder next time!” You quickly bow in front of him and have a newfound sense of enthusiasm you didn’t realize you have.  _ What am I doing? _ You think to yourself,  _ is this instinctive? _

Tsukishima looks slightly confused but starts chuckling. “You really are weird you know?” Although the word “weird” definitely stung, there was no malice behind it. 

You sarcastically reply, “Thanks for sugarcoating.” You realize how strange you’ve both been acting. It’s as if those initial defensive barriers slowly lowered themselves down; however, you realize you have quite a long way to go if you want to break down Tsukishima Kei. 

“You know, I can take you to class since we’re in the same class anyways.” He quietly remarks.

“Really? Thank you so much!” You beam back with a genuine smile. His eyes widen again; he’s unsure as to why your smile always startles him. 

“Y-yeah, no problem.” 

The two of you walk to class together. You survey the corridors and notice some familiar faces from your television screen back in your real dimension. You stop dead in your tracks thinking about your “real dimension”,  _ My real dimension, huh?  _ You feel as if a heavy rock just plopped in your stomach.  _ How am I supposed to get out of here? What if I don’t want to go back? What about mom and dad? My  _ **_real_ ** _ life? _ Your head spirals into a myriad of thoughts about your actual life back home and you stop walking. Your chest feels tight as the palpitations in your heart run wild. Tears well at the corner of your eyes once you realize the gravity of the situation you are in. This isn’t some mere dream. All of your senses are alive, sensitive, and real. Just the thought of this causes you to crouch in the middle of the hallways and hold your hands up to your ears, trying to stop the overwhelming amount of thoughts in your head right now. The people around you are staring and you’re wholeheartedly embarrassed. It’s your first day of school and you’ve already caused a scene in front of dozens of schoolchildren. Out of the corner of your eye you notice Yanase and her crew smirk at you. As tears well in your eyes your vision blurs and your knees hit the cold, tile floor. The whispers, the laughs, the piercing stares are overwhelming. You’re frustrated, lost, confused.  _ What did I ever do to get them to already dislike me? Why am I so stupid? I made a mistake by shifting. I shouldn’t have done this. Please make it stop. Make it stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. What if I’m trapped here forever, what if- _

Your thoughts are put to a halt by the sound of rock music.  _ Arctic Monkeys…?  _ You immediately understand and quickly look up to see the faint outline of blond hair, your vision blurred by tears. Rubbing your eyes, you clearly notice a gentle yet worried face as Fluorescent Adolescent -one of your favorite songs by your favorite bands- faintly plays in the background. Looking down at your hands, you notice Tsukishima has one hand on yours, gently caressing the pad of his thumb over your knuckles. Touching your ears, you notice he placed his Somy headphones over your ears. 

Clenching your chest, an immense warmth coats your body. For some reason, you feel at ease despite your slight malfunction a couple of moments ago. Panic attacks only came once in a blue moon and the last time you experienced one was months ago so the feeling was unfamiliar and left a bitter taste on your tongue. Tsukishima doesn’t say anything; instead, he grabs you by your wrist and drags you to the courtyard. Confused, dazed, and vision still slightly blurred from the tears, you call out, “Tsukishima-san, where are you taking me? What’s going on!?”

“Just calm down and stay quiet for now” He curtly replies. Yanase, Miyagawa, and Hano look at you in discontent and disgust and the three girls scurry to a nearby window in front of the courtyard once they notice you and Tsukishima leave towards there. Tsukishima’s been grabbing your wrist for what feels like ten minutes until he plops you down on a bench in the courtyard. 

“Tsukishima-san, what are you doing? Don’t we have class soon?” You question, genuinely worried about being late on your first date.

“I thought you needed some fresh air. It looks like the space was simply too crowded and the environment is new.” He says with almost no emotion to his voice, as if it was simply the practical thing to do. 

You blush at the thought of his large, slender hands gripping your wrist, “Oh...Well, thank you for thinking of me. I liked the song you played back there.” you softly grin as you carefully remove the headphones. 

He looks up, eyes wider than before, “You like Arctic Monkeys too? They’re my favorite band. There’s something about UK rock and alternative that gets me going.”

“Yeah!” you reply back, “they’re also my favorite band. My favorite song by them is probably 505. I know it’s a little basic but seriously it’s simple and the words are short but the message is so pungent. Every time I listen to it my chest aches and I have this overwhelming feeling to yearn and indulge in my greatest desires and pleasures, if that makes sense…” You continue rambling about the song for another minute or so until... you realize you’ve been talking about your love for 505 by Arctic Monkeys to this curt, saltshaker of a boy you met this morning who is probably bored out of his mind right now. 

“Oh my god I am so so so sorry I didn’t mean to bore you and we’re going to be late for class and I just feel like such a nuisance since you took the time out of your day to walk me to school and make me feel comfortable and I’m just here annoying you and-”

He places his hand on your shoulder.

“Y/N-san, calm down. Take a deep breath, you’re okay,” He replies back with the faintest smile tugging the corner of his mouth, “and I didn’t mind your little rambling about 505. It’s a really wonderful song and one of my favorites too. I’m glad to know there’s at least one other person in this godforsaken place who has the same music taste as me” A slight hint of crimson appears on his cheeks, “and lastly, you’re not a burden. Although my mother did force me to walk you to school, it still was my choice at the end of the day. Don’t worry about it.” His voice returns to the nonchalant and assertive demeanor it’s usually in. 

You’ve never seen Tsukishima act like this. On the big screen it was always volleyball, volleyball, and volleyball. The fact that you get to see a glimpse of his true personality is more than enough to make you ecstatic. Despite his intimidating appearance, his presence is calming; however, the calming aura doesn’t last long as you notice the three girls from his morning from the corner of your eye in the window diagonal to you, glaring you down at you as if you just murdered their parents. You abruptly take a step back and reevaluate the situation.  _ We’re definitely going to be late to class if we keep talking. Ugh. I want to talk to him more. I want to talk to him until my throat gives out and there’s nothing left to say, but no, we have the Plastics and Miss Regina George looking at me as if I just stomped on a puppy.  _

You decide to be honest, “I-I just. Thank you, Tsukishima-san. Thank you so much. I really mean it. Your words hold so much value to me because it takes a special kind of person to deal with my annoying ass.” You give him an earnest look, eyebrows slightly furrowed with a sweet, gentle smile. “We should also get going to class or else we’re going to be late, and quite frankly, I’m not looking to get any more attention that I already did this morning.” 

Tsukishima chuckles at your words for some reason, “If you say so shrimpy.”

“Shrimpy!?” You exclaim back, slightly annoyed at his choice of words but aware of his habit of teasing people for their height. 

“Yeah, you’re like half my height.”

“Okay french fry.” You assertively respond.

Taken aback by your nearly pathetic but mild attempt at retaliation, he chuckles, “French fry? That’s a new one”

“Ohhhhhh whatever let’s get to class before I turn you into one-helluva soggy french fry.” You try to insult him but it comes out to more of an exasperated sigh. Instead of responding, he just pats your head.  _ Damn, that was cute _ , you think to yourself. The two of you walk to class together and you’re hopeful about what’s to come next. 

“Why does  _ she _ get to be the one to touch Tsukki! We don’t even know her name.” Hano pouts as she adjusts the headband on her short blonde locks. 

“Be quiet, Hano-chan. Her name is [L/N, F/N] and she’s from [COO]. Apparently her father got a job in Miyagi and their whole family decided to move. It’s pretty lame.” Yanase sighs, as if the conversation is boring. Miyagawa remains silent as usual.

“Keiko-chan, how did you figure all of that out? I mean it’s literally her first day of school.” Hano responds, confused,

“I overheard some kids in class 1-4 talk about her, so I decided to pry something out of them.” Yanase bluntly answers, “Either way, she’s bad news. I’ve never seen Tsukishima-kun act so kindly in front of another person, let alone a girl.”

Miyagawa finally joins the conversation, “We should establish who we are to her at least. Let’s just scare her off. It’s not that deep.” Miyagawa is the most upfront yet unbothered of the three girls. 

“Good idea Miya-chan!” Hano squeals. Yanase nods back in reply, “She’ll probably be ogling around the school during after-hours because her dumbass probably won’t understand how to get around the school. Let’s just stay after school for a few minutes before club and have a little ‘chat’ with her” 

Hano winks, “Oooooooh I’m excited Keiko-chan! Let’s see what she’s made of!”


	4. I Can Tell That We Are Going to Be Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: depictions of bullying

You reach class with Tsukishima just in time before the bell rings. The teacher points you out and encourages you to introduce yourself. Although you would literally rather walk on needles than persist with the cliche introduction, you decide to just to leave a good impression on the teacher. 

“Hello everyone, my name is [L/N, F/N]. I moved here from [COO] and I’m very excited to meet you all. Please wish me luck!” You formally bow. You hear whispers from other students.

_ “Dude, she’s a foreigner! I wonder if she has any cute foreigner friends.” _

_ “How is her Japanese so good?”  _ -this didn’t make any sense to you as you spoke perfect English in front of everyone. You can only assume that to everyone else in this Desired Reality, you can speak perfect Japanese. It’s strange how Tsukishima never questioned it earlier-

_ “You know, she’s kinda cute.” _

“Alright, alright everyone settle down. Welcome, L/N-kun to Karasuno and I wish you the best.” The teacher responds politely.

“Thank you!” 

The rest of the day breezes by a little too quickly. You’re lucky you’ve already learned some of the math and history topics in class because it gives you more leverage to slack off. There are some rather questionable instances however. For some reason during your Japanese class, all of the Kanji and hiragana and katakana characters look familiar. It’s as if you’ve already known the language your whole life. You come to realize that education and school is the  _ last  _ priority in your Desired Reality. In your script, you remember writing down that you were academically gifted and anything learned in class came easily to you. At the thought of remembering this you wonder,  _ Huh, maybe this is why math class feels easier than usual.  _ You’re shaken out of your thoughts as you hear the 5th bell ring of the day, indicating lunch-time. Besides Tsukishima, you hardly know anyone but you decide to eat lunch alone in the classroom to avoid disturbing Tsukishima. 

Unpacking the sandwich your mother packed for you, you’re startled when you look up and notice a pair of golden eyes staring down at you. Next to the freakishly scary string-bean sat another familiar freckled face.  _ Oh my god, it’s Yamguchi. How did I not notice him earlier??? _

He beams his radiant smile as always, “Hi [L/N]-san! I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi, nice to meet you. I see that you’ve talked to Tsukki today. That’s incredible because I’ve never seen him talk to another girl with interest-”

“Shut up, Yamaguchi.”

“Sorry, Tsukki.” 

You chuckle at the sight of this interaction -it’s ALL too familiar- and respond, “Hi Yamaguchi. I’m really happy to meet you! I hope we can be friends!” You’re more comfortable around Yamaguchi, knowing he’s a little less judgemental than Tsukishima. 

Tsukishima clears his throat, “Anyways, Yamaguchi and I grasped that you were probably going to eat alone but-”

“Tsukki decided that we should eat lunch with you here every single day!” Yamaguchi professes.

“Ts-Tsukishima-san decided that? Are you okay with that Yamaguchi? I mean, you hardly know me.” You question. 

“Yup! You seem pretty cool and I don’t mind. Anyone Tsukki is cool with, I’m cool with.”

“Ahh, thank you. You’re very kind.” You say almost relieved. As you’re munching on your sandwich and listening to the background conversation between Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, you wonder as to why Tsukishima is being so kind to you.  _ Has he always been like this? It seems too soon for him to catch any sort of feelings. I think it’s out of politeness. I mean, he’s rude but not rude enough to leave a girl mid-panic attack alone.  _

“Y/N, Y/N, hello?? Is anyone in there?” Tsukishima waves his hands in front of your face causing your hair to slightly move. You snap out your mindless thoughts, 

“Yeah, sorry I was just thinking about something.”

“Yamaguchi wanted to ask you’d like to come visit our practice today. He was too embarrassed to ask you himself.” Tsukishima says plainly.

“Tsukki! Don’t put me on the spot like that. It’s embarrassinggggg” Yamaguchi blushes, “anyways, you were the one who suggested it so she wouldn’t be alone after school.”

Your eyes widen as you see Tsukishima blushes, “Shut up Yamaguchi.” He looks towards you, “I just don’t want you to wander aimlessly and accidentally get lost on the way home or my mom will kill me. It’s better if you just stick around at practice and I can escort you home.” 

“But Tsukki, you said you wanted to talk to her more-”

“Enough, Yamaguchi.”

Confused as to what’s going on, you simply shrug off the exchange at hand. Moments later, you realize that they haven’t even stated what their practice was for, -you obviously knew- you ask as if you had no clue what they were discussing.

“Uh, I apologize for the interruption but, what kind of practice are you talking about?”

“Oh right! We forgot to specify: Tsukki and I are on the volleyball team. Pretty cool right?” Yamaguchi attempted to sound as nonchalant as Tsukishima to look “cool”. You thought it was adorable and decided to play along.

“Really!? You’re  _ so  _ cool Yamaguchi-san!” You say in a cute voice. There was genuinity in your voice however because you truly loved Yamaguchi and his character. 

“Y-You think I’m cool Y/N?” Yamaguchi’s flustered and whispers to Tsukishima, “S-She thinks I’m cool! And she’s pretty cute.” 

“Okay Yamaguchi whatever you say.” Tsukishima mindlessly says.

“Anyways Y/N, we thought you’d like to see our practice because we decided that you wouldn’t have anything to do after school. There’s some other first-year’s on the team and a female manager, so maybe you could make some new friends!” Yamaguchi beams you a wide but genuine smile.

“Of course, I’d be glad to attend. Thank you Tsukishima-san and Yamaguchi-san!” You politely accept their invitation, excited to meet the rest of the Karasuno team and possibly befriend this. This is your dream come true, to meet the people who have brought you so much love and happiness through the television screen. These people are no longer divided by the glass walls separating your dimensions, they are  _ here, right now.  _

For the rest of lunch, the three of you make casual chit-chat until the bell signaling the beginning of the next class rings. The rest of the day goes by alarmingly quick as you spend the most of class idly looking out the window, thinking about practice after school, thinking about your new (temporary?) life, thinking about Tsukishima. His seat in class is quite far from yours, so you hardly have the chance to sneak a glimpse at him. Your life has changed so much since this morning but you actively try to filter out any thoughts of wanting to go back for now. Right now, you have a goal:  _ To befriend Tsukishima and to make your time here worthwhile _ . Life is strange and sometimes can lead you to unknown worlds and entities that were once thought to be strictly two dimensional. Sure, maybe this is some great hallucination of yours, but you’re going to make sure it’s the best damn hallucination you’ve ever had. 

Suddenly, the last bell of the day rings.  _ 3:15 pm huh.  _ Your mind scrambles as you remember your promise to attend Karasuno’s practice.  _ Yes! I’ll finally be able to meet the Karasuno team.  _ You try to contain your excitement as best as you can, as you remember that the rest of the team besides Tsukishima and Yamaguchi have no idea you’re arriving to practice. You notice the empty seats by Tsukishima and Yamaguchi's desk. Lost in thoughts, you forgot that you actually had to  _ get up _ and leave.  _ Dammit, they probably had to rush to practice. I’ll have to figure my way to the gym. Karasuno is huge so how the hell am I going to know where the gym is?  _ You figure you’ll wander around until you stumble across the gymnasium. Beginning your quest to find the gym, you walk to the courtyard to commence your search. 

After walking for about 5 or so minutes you’ve come to the conclusion that you might never find this stupid gymnasium.  _ Sheesh, they’re probably already started warmups _ you think to yourself. Already, you imagine the pure  _ site  _ of Tsukishima Kei dripping beads of sweat and practicing diving drills, him lifting up his shirt to wipe sweat off his face, his intense gaze while blocking Hinata’s spikes, and  _ no no no no not right now.  _

Before your mind falls to the gutter, you decide to walk towards the far back entrance of the school, the only place you haven’t looked at and lo and behold, you notice the familiar metal doors that lead you to Karasuno’s one and only gymnasium. At this point you’re practically jogging as you don’t want Tsukishima to think you’re rude for coming late. Just as you begin to walk towards the doors you hear an almost piercing voice behind you,

“Hey, you. You’re [L/N, F/N] right?” You slowly turn your head to a group of three girls, the same three girls you witnessed this morning giving you the death glare while you walked to school  _ and  _ while you were recovering from this morning’s horribly embarrassing panic attack. The one you just called out to you was the blonde one, Himeka Hano. 

_ Shit. Tsukishima told me to stay away from these girls. I’ll be polite but I need to keep it brief.  _ “Yes, that’s me. Can I help you with anything?” 

“Oh-ho, don’t be in such a hurry. We just wanted to ask you something, it’s nothing too much.” Hano gives a sickly sweet smile that could make you puke in an instance.

_ Keep your cool,  _ “Of course. May I please know your names first? I do not want to be rude.” You give an equally dolce smile back. 

“ _ Tch _ , polite one aren’t you?” You hear from the jet-black haired girl, Riku Miyagawa. 

“Oh I’m sorry I didn’t mean to-”

“Now, now Miyagawa, let’s be nice here” you finally hear from Yanase who has remained silent up until now. Her voice startles you. It’s sweet, almost gentle, yet resonant and full. With just one line you think about how well of a public speaker she could be. Yanase is utterly  _ entrancing _ : from her silky ginger hair to her long, lean legs to her round, hazel eyes, she could honestly become an idol. “[L/N]-san, it’s nice to meet you. Mine name is Yanase. The one with black hair is Miyagawa and the one with blonde hair is Hano. We noticed you were new to Karasuno and we wanted to give you a warm welcome.” Her smile is warm but her eyes are ice cold. 

For a moment, you’re tempted by the genuinity in Yanase’s voice, “Ahhh, really? Thank you so much Hano-san, Miyagawa-san, and Yanase-san. It’s a pleasure to meet-”

“Anyways,” Yanase’s voice is slightly shrill now, “We noticed you walking with Tsukishima-kun this morning. How do you know him? You just moved here” She’s blunt, unnerving. 

“Um, how do you know that? Ok well anyways, I just-uh” You continue to stutter out nervousness, “well, he’s my new neighbor, so he offered to walk to me to school so I wouldn’t get-”

“He  _ offered  _ you? Tsukki would never do that!” Hano whines, her high-pitched voice having an almost childlike manner.

“Shut up, Hano-chan.” an almost tired voice comes from Miyagawa.

“Exactly what Hano-chan said. We  _ know  _ Tsukishima-Kun, unlike you. He would never offer to walk a random girl he doesn’t know to school. And what was that stunt you pulled this morning when you were sitting on the floor like a little child? Do they not teach you manners where you come from?” Yanase’s voice is raising slightly. The former polite undertones in her voice were now overtaken by pure malice.

Again, you try to keep a leveled headspace, “I’m sorry if you were offended by my outburst this morning, I understand it was inappropriate considering the given time. Also, I was unaware that Tsukishima-san was walking me to school. His mother asked him to walk me and he showed up at  _ my  _ doorstep so I apologize if you were hurt by it but quite frankly, there is nothing I can do about it.” 

Miyagawa snaps, “Oh will you  _ please  _ drop the formalities? It sounds annoying. Who do you think you are telling  _ us  _ if we’re offended or not.” 

“Hurt?  _ Hurt? _ Do you think  _ I’m  _ hurt by some lowlife foreign scum like you? Why can’t you understand that Tsukishima-kun is off limits. We’re here to tell you something something very clear.” Yanase scoffs. 

“Tsukki will _never_ stoop down to a girl like _you._ He receives dozens of confessions a month but he has never accepted a single one. What makes you think someone like you can **seduce** him?” Hano pouts, her voice slightly more serious than before. 

“S-Seduce? I’m not trying to-”

“Cut the innocent look, [Y/N]. We know your true intentions.” Miyagawa frowns. Yanase walks up a couple steps closer to you but before you have the chance to back away Miyagawa firmly holds your shoulders from behind.

You’re terrified, absolutely terrified, “Miyagawa-san, what’re you doing?”

She gives a devilish smile, “Nothing, just this.”

Miyagawa yanks your hair back with as much brute force as possible.  _ Fuck that hurt _ . Before you were even allowed to register the full extent of the pain, you feel a stinging in your shin as you noticed the 5’0 blonde kicking your shin multiple times with her leather Mary Jane’s. You attempt to call out for help, but your screams are muffled by Yanase’s hand. Shortly after, Yanase brutally socks you in the stomach, leaving you on the floor defenseless. 

You try to fight back but you feel weak, unable to get up. Helpless. Lost.  _ Is this what I signed up for?  _ The pain doesn’t stop as they continue to beat you up while you render yourself hopeless on the cold concrete floor. Miyagawa repeatedly kicks your shoulders and head while Hano is working your shins and sides. Yanase stands proudly above, delivering a  _ slap _ across your face. 

“Know your place, foreigner trash.” She chuckles. Yanase decides to give you a final blow to the stomach. She winds her arm back and raises her right fist, balled with enough anger to fuel a rocket. 

_ Maybe I should just die here instead,  _ you think.  _ I just wanted to talk to Tsukishima. Tsukishima please help me. Please save me. Help. Help. He- _

“Get the fuck away from her.” You hear a deep, assertive voice faintly in the background. Your mind is slipping in and out of consciousness from the repeated blows. As you look down, you faintly notice the outline of blood on the concrete.  _ This is definitely my blood. God I certainly look like a mess. Why do I here Tsukishima’s voice? He’s practicing right now. It’s probably my imagination. Fuck, why am I so stupid? I need to stop being so nice to everyone.  _

Although your vision is hazy, you notice Hano, Miyagawa, and Yanase are stood frozen in fear. 

“I said, get the  **fuck** away from her, or I’ll beat the shit out of all of you.” Turning your head slowly, you notice the 6’3 beanstalk himself. The three girls scramble away and all that is left is you on the floor of the outdoor gymnasium hall, bloodied, broken, and humiliated. 

“Tsu-ki-shi-ma” You quietly call out.  
“Don’t speak, [y/n], we’re calling the nurse right now. By the looks of it there’s no serious injuries. Do you need a hospital right now?” Tsukishima’s voice is frantic. 

“N-No. I’m fine” Your voice is barely in a whisper

His eyes are wide, almost in anger, “What do you MEAN your fine? Didn’t those 3 girls just beat the living shit out of you? How do you have the RESOLVE to even consider yourself okay? What is wrong with you!?” 

A tear streams down your dirt-covered face.  _ Why am I crying? Is it because Tsukishima yelled at me? No, he’s caring for me.  _ Your vision allows you to see the rest of the Karasuno team by the gym doors. By the looks of it, they’re confused but equally horrified seeing a bloodied girl they’ve never seen before in the middle of the concrete floor outside. You notice Yamaguchi, Hinata, and Asahi looking mortified, Kageyama and Nishinoya are confused, and Tanaka and Sugawara look like they’re ready to throw hands.

“What the hell....just happened?” You hear Daichi question. It’s only normal for the captain of the volleyball team to actually ask a logical question about the situation. 

“Is she hurt anywhere? Do you know her Tsukishima?” Sugawara’s timid yet kind voice never fails to make you smile. 

You hear Tanaka’s voice in the background, “All right, who the hell are we beating up today.”

Internally you chuckle.  _ Damn, these people don’t even know me yet they’re so kind, so kind. How did the situation change so much in just a few minutes? _

“I’ll explain later. Please just give us some space, you’re stressing her out.” Tsukishima’s monotone voice is back. He sounds numb yet his face hovers over yours. His eyes are gentle. 

“[Y/N], I-I apologize if I made you cry. I didn’t mean to say that to you.”

With every last bit of strength left, you bring your hand to his bicep, “It’s okay, Tsukishima-san. You cared for me.” His mouth is slightly agape and his eyes focused, thinking of what to say next. You wait for him to say something but he never does. 

At last the nurse finally arrives. Tsukishima exhales a deep breath of relief and requests the others to go back to the gym and practice. Coach Takeda asserts that he will stay to assess the situation and watch over the two of you. Tsukishima claims he’ll wait beside you and take you home. You notice the only people outside are the nurse, Coach Takeda, and Tsukishima.

After a few minutes, the nurse completes her checkup. “I just checked her heart rate and blood pressure and all is good, no broken bones or concussion either. By the looks of it, she won’t need a hospital. It’s just a couple of scratches and it’s likely that the stress of her first day also contributed to her weakened state. I suggest she stay at home for 2-3 days to rest.” Tsukishima nods in response. Coach Takeda offers to take the van and drive you and Tsukishima home. “Tsukishima-kun, I understand that you’re neighbors with this girl?”

“Yes” Tsukishima quietly responds. 

“Then, please take the rest of practice off and take care of her. I’ll drop the two of you at her home. I cannot believe somebody was sick enough to do this. Poor thing, on her first day too.”

“Understood.” Tsukishima gives simple, one-word responses. He’s still in shock from the situation. During practice, he heard commotion from outside. Although he wanted to ignore it, an aching feeling was in his stomach as he realized you haven’t arrived yet and you were most likely lost. He told the captain he forgot something in his locker and decided to take a sneak peak outside to catch a glimpse of where you were, and boy, did he find you. He found you just as Yanase was about to deliver her final punch. This was exactly what he didn’t want to happen. 

Tsukishima picks you up by piggyback to drag you to the van. Your thoughts are finally clearing up after the nurse applied some ibuprofen and ice packs to temporarily rid of the pain. “I’m glad you’re okay, [y/n]. His voice is soft, almost vulnerable. His face when he saw you beaten up, the look in his eyes, the anger in his voice was all so foreign to you. This was a side to him you were completely unaware of, but you didn’t mind seeing it. After all, you know you are a lucky girl. Just to be in his presence, having your arms around his neck is enough for you. You nuzzle your face into the crevice of his shoulder, breathing softly. “Thank you, Tsukishima-san. You’re really a wonderful person.” A crimson blush creeps across his face,“Y-yeah, no problem.”


	5. Healing

The last thing you remember was falling asleep while on Tsukishima’s back. You wake up in your Desired room. Checking the time, it’s about 6 pm.  _ Shit, I’ve been asleep for almost 3 hours.  _ Your parents told you that they’d come home late for the next few weeks due to their new jobs. You’ve never realized how alone you felt until this very moment. Taking in the gravity of the situation you were just in, you release a deep breath. Remembering bits of the conversation between Takeda-sensei and Tsukishima, you came to the conclusion that Tsukishima probably walked home.  _ How am I going to explain this to my parents?  _ A little confused, you get up but feel a throbbing pulse on the temples of your forehead,  _ Ah yes, three little shits were beating the actual crap out of me.  _ Ignoring the pain, you stumble through the halls of your rather unfamiliar home.Walking out the door, you feel a slight  _ thud  _ as you bump into what seems like a person. Assuming it’s your mother coming home from work, you sigh, “Mom,  _ what  _ could you possibly want right now.”

A gravelly voice stings your ears, “I’m not your mom.”

“What-” You look up, “Tsukishima-san, what are you doing here!?” You feel a knot in your stomach,  _ God I was so rude to him but ugh, I can’t be bothered right now.  _

Rather annoyed, his voice wavers, “Do you not know what happened in the last three hours? Lay back down.”

“What’re you talking about?” Your thoughts are still taking time to process so putting two and two together is  _ not  _ your strength at the moment.

“Dumbass, I’m here to take care of you until your mom comes home. I already called her and told her what happened.” He rolls his eyes,

Finally aware of what is going on, “OH-” You facepalm, immediately turning polite, “I am  _ so  _ sorry Tsukishima-san. My brain is sort of all over the place. Thank you for the help.”

He softly smiles back, “You know, you don’t always have to be so polite.”

Sitting back on the bed, you curl your knees up to your chest, “I...don’t know what I exactly did. One moment they were saying something about you and the next moment I was on the ground.”

Tsukishima’s eyes are slightly wider than before, “What did they say about me?” His words are brief but with a hint of aggression.

“Ahh, you don’t have to worry about it” You raise your hand to the back of your neck uncomfortably.

“Y/N, this is important. Don’t lie to me.”

“Tsukishima, please don’t worry. It was never your issue to begin with.”

“Y/N.” His voice is aggressive but has a hint of desperation. In fear of angering him even more.

Quietly, you respond, “They...told me to stay away from you. Um, they uh, accused me of seducing you?” You say in an almost question-like manner, “But of course! That was never my intention, I mean, I have no idea what was going on and I’m sorry if I ever came that way across to you and I-”

“Y/N, stop.” Tsukishima takes a deep sigh and rests his head in his hands. His worries were coming true, “That’s why I told you to stay away from them. They get weirdly possessive over me. Why couldn’t you just listen to me!?”

You knew Tsukishima warned you, but you decided to hold your own ground as well, “At the end of the day, it was my choice to continue talking to them Tsukishima-san. Please, let me handle this since it wasn’t your issue to begin with! Why do you care so much?”

Slightly surprised at your sudden rebuttal rather than submission, his breath hitches at the words.  _ Why do you care so much?  _ He takes a pause, “Yeah… Why do I care so much?” Tsukishima’s thoughts collect, “You should stay away from me. I’m staying here until your parents come home and then I’m going.”

His tone is cold, indifferent, similar to how it always used to sound on the television. 

“But, why? Is there something I did?” You question.

“Staying near me is going to cause you trouble. Look where it landed you.” He says, barely in a whisper. 

“Tsukishima-san…” 

He snaps. “Just shut up will you? Stop using that voice, it’s pathetic. Maybe those girls had a point ”  _ Ouch, that stings _ . Tears well in the corner of your eyes and your throat begins to burn. You can feel a teardrop on your cheek, but no sound comes out. You refuse to cry in front of Tsukishima. You want to be stronger. 

His face is filled with immediate regret. He thinks to himself,  _ Shit, I probably went too far. _

“Tsukishima-san, please go.” You whisper, barely audible.

“What? I’m supposed to stay here until your mom-”

“Just  _ go _ .” You say with more confidence and dominance. The tears continue to stream down your flushed cheeks, but your voice does not waver. Tsukishima feels a pitfall in his stomach.

“Y/N-”  
“ _What_.” Your voice is brazen. Acting cold towards Tsukishima is certainly not your strong suit; however, you refuse to be treated condescendingly. 

Tsukishima’s throat clenches. He’s never apologized for his words before, so _why is he doing it now?_ “I-uh, it’s nothing.” 

You raise one eyebrow.

“S-sorry about that. That was sort of wrong for me to say.”

Your heart clenches at the thought of Tsukishima Kei  _ apologizing  _ to you? Something feels wrong.  _ Why is he so nice???  _ Quickly nodding your head to accept his awkward apology, you sigh. “Come back here and sit down. I don’t want you to get in trouble for leaving me.” 

“Uh, thanks.”

After a solid minute of uncomfortable silence, Kei mumbles with his head down, “You should stay away from me.”

Rather than irrationally getting upset, you stop and think for a moment before responding, “Tsukishima-kun, what if I tell you I don’t want to?”

He lifts his head up, looking at you with a confused face, “Why  _ don’t  _ you want to stay away from me? Shouldn’t you hate me?” His voice his attempting to replicate his earlier aggression but to no avail. 

“Why would I hate you? You helped me” You respond as if its the most obvious thing in the world, “anyways, I enjoy your company far too much to let you run away right now.” You say with a cheeky smile flashed across your face. While the events leading up to this exact moment were quite depressing, you decide to make the most out of it by being cheerful enough to help Tsukishima’s mood settle. His cheeks are flushed with the tint of rose pink and you can’t help but think how vulnerable yet  _ beautiful  _ he looks. It was one thing looking at the man through a silver screen but in person? In this weird dimension that defies all concepts of space and time where you cannot tell the difference between 2D and 3D? He was ethereal. 

“You really are something, you know that.” Tsukishima responds, barely muttering out. His lips fold into an almost neutral expression. No anger, no pain, just calm.The tension in the room eases and the empty quarrel discards itself just as quickly as Yanase and her lackeys scurried. He releases a breath and looks up rather quickly, “You know, if I leave you alone now, I’m pretty much giving those bitches what they want, so I might as well stick around. Anyways, you’re not _too_ bad to be around.” he says in the _most_ forced semi-casual tone. You catch onto his little falter and pout your lips, “Is that really the _only_ reason why?” 

“If I leave you now, my mom will drop-kick me into oblivion.” Tsukishima says rather embarrassed. To you however, it was probably the most hilarious thing he has ever said. You burst into a hearty laugh, unsure of why that statement appeals so much to you. “God, you’re really funny aren’t you?” You barely make out as you wipe a tear from the corner of your eye. 

His voice falters again, “To be honest though, it’s really the first reason.” 

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .

Surprisingly, you heal rather quickly and return to school the next day. Tsukishima spent the rest of his evening doing his homework, scrolling through his phone, and reading some Smithsonian magazines as you were resting. Quite frankly, the two of you didn’t talk much for the remainder of the evening, but he would curiously ask what you were up to every half hour or so. It was calming; being in each other’s presence. Usually, you were incredibly awkward around anyone, even your closest friends, after hanging out for more than three hours; however, with Tsukishima, time flew by and you both realized you simply enjoyed each other’s presence more than anything. After making a quick bowl of instant ramen, he left at approximately 8:00 pm. Watching him leave broke your heart a little but at the same time made your heart swell, knowing Tsukishima was in  _ your  _ home hanging out with  _ you _ , of course out of obligation. 

You came to school looking awfully rough after Tsukishima nearly dragged you out of the house for being late. Well,  _ Tsukishima’s _ idea of late. The two of you often arrived at school much earlier than usual to align with his morning volleyball practices. Luckily, yesterday was his off-day but from now on, you’re stuck waking up 30 minutes earlier than usual.

The bruises on your cheek were still maroon and purple, the hidden wounds on your ribs and obliques were still tender, and the aching gash on your shin was thankfully concealed by your knee-high white socks. Tsukishima and you are walking to class until you notice the three girls from yesterday’s fiasco staring you down. Tsukishima catches the stare-off and immediately lashes the girls a horrifically dirty look until they unwillingly dart away. You take notice in his care and laugh, “What, are you like my personal bodyguard or something?”

“Shut up loser. Next time you say that I’ll leave you here alone to deal with them.” He quickly realizes what he said and is about to apologize until he hears you sigh and chuckle,

“Whatever you say… You really are a piece of shit.” Your voice has no malice in it and thankfully he catches on. 

“Anyways, Y/N, do you want to see the volleyball team today? After yesterday’s incident those idiots are sort of dying to see you.”

“Huh, why me???” You frantically question.

He pauses for a moment. “They’ve never seen me act that way around someone, I guess.” He shyly mutters.

Your eyes slightly widen at his words. “O-Oh. Well-uh, thank you, I guess. But um, yeah! You’ll definitely catch me at practice. At least I know what the gym looks like.” Kei doesn’t say anything but you understand that he’s listening. The two of you walk for a bit until you hear the high-pitched “ _ Tsukkiiiiiiiii _ ” halfway across the hall. 

Yamaguchi dashes through the hallway, frantically looking for Tsukishima until he abruptly stops at the site of you and Tsukishima. He looks breathless. 

“ _ H-Huph _ ” Yamaguchi literally is out of breath, 

“What is it, Yamaguchi.” Tsukki responds in his usual cold demeanor/

Weirdly enough, Yamaguchi ignores Tsukishima’s words and immediately looks at you. He grasps your shoulders and you wince at the sudden aggressiveness.

“Oh, sorry if I was a bit rough. BUT Y/N! ARE YOU OKAY? WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED YESTERDAY?” At this point, Yamaguchi’s practically shouting.

You smile, you found yourself taking a liking to Yamaguchi, “I’m fine, thank you for asking. Tsukishima-san took very good care of me.”

Yamaguchi gives Tsukishima the side eye while Tsukishima simply shrugs.

“Ahhhhh I see.  _ Good care? _ ” He replies with a sly grin

It would be impossible for your face to turn a darker color, “Yamaguchi-kun!”

“Shut up, Yamaguchi.” Tsukishima says as cool as ever; however, you notice the faint pink blush forming on his cheeks. 

“Sorry Tsukki”  _ Classic,  _ you think to yourself. 

The rest of the day is the exact same as the day before. Classes breeze by and despite the occasional awkward glances, stares, and whispers you hear as you occasionally walk through the halls, Tsukishima makes sure to stay by your side. 

Right before the last class of the day, you, Tsukishima, and Yamaguchi decide to take a water break. Walking through the painfully white-light halls, you question Tsukishima, “You know Tsukishima-san, you’re not obliged to walk with me everywhere. I’m pretty sure your mom won't kick you if you and Yamaguchi aren’t joining me to the water fountain.”

Tsukishima huffs, “I’m just near you in case those girls come again.” 

“You’re worried about me?”

He doesn’t respond. That was enough of an answer for you, “W-well anyways, I hope you know I’m strong enough to take care of myself.” 

“Whatever” He replies with the most bored expression. 

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .

Last period flies by in an instant and without even realizing it, your second day of school is officially over. You pack up your bags quickly in hopes of reaching practice in time. This time, you’re confident in the location of the gym; however, you peer out the corner of your eye and notice Tsukishima waiting right outside the classroom door. You approach him.

“Tsukishima-san, what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be going to practice?”

“Well I  _ am  _ going to practice, but I’m walking you. Now hurry up or else we’ll be late.” He replies curtly. Your heart flutters at the thought that  _ the  _ Tsukishima Kei is waiting for you, caring for you, and not being a  _ complete  _ asshat whenever you’re around. More importantly, you haven’t seen the Plastics for most of the day and you’re seeing the Karasuno boys volleyball -formally- for the first time. 

It feels too good to be true, but you know that it’s real and it’s  _ happening.  _ Never in your wildest desires could you imagine the version of you 3 months ago, crying when the fictional Tsukishima made his iconic block during the Shiratorizawa match. Now, for some  **impossible** reason, he’s right in front you. You could touch him, smell him, see him; everything felt all too real and at this point you could drift away into this universe permanently without a second choice. You begin to notice the little things about him: The fact that he smells like oak wood and fresh paperback books, his eyes have a peculiar gleam to them which makes them look glassier than most, his trousers are slightly cuffed because the school didn’t have anything tailored for his height, and his hair looked  _ so  _ soft. It was strawberry blond, looking much different than how it’s portrayed on the television. You want him to be your strawberry blond.

Before you knew it, you were completely ogling him for about 30 seconds straight. He doesn’t say anything, but the blush forming across his cheeks -man does he blush a  _ lot _ \- and the  _ very  _ slight side-eye proves that he noticed. You’re completely embarrassed but refrain from saying anything more to avoid any more awkwardness than there already is. 

Reaching the front of the Karasuno gymnasium, you stand with uncertainty yet hold your resolve. You bear a deep sigh and together with Tsukishima, you push the two metal doors, leading you into the world you have  _ wholeheartedly  _ been waiting for. 


End file.
